Aftermath
by Tim Nolan
Summary: Part 1 of a trilogy of stories centered on the Outer Senshi. These are manga based stories.


Aftermath {1/1}  
  
  
A Sailor Moon story by Tim Nolan  
e-mail: nomad@cyberverse.com  
  
Please see comments following the story.  
  
This is part of a trilogy of stories about   
the Outer Senshi. The correct order they   
should be read in is  
1. Aftermath  
2. Intermezzo  
3. Advent   
  
These are based on the manga and not the anime.  
  
*************  
  
  
  
Aftermath  
part one of a trilogy of Outer Senshi stories   
  
  
  
For a time, there was no sound.   
Faint breezes that were slowly becoming colder   
wafted through the ruins of the Silver Millennium,   
stirring up slashed and tattered clothing in their   
wake. Delicate wall hangings and decorations of silk   
would sometimes ripple in a bright counterpoint to   
the charred banners and battle flags of the invaders.   
A booted foot completed a step that was started   
worlds away. Fine, gray dirt tracked in by a squadron   
of human pikemen crackled under the heels of the woman   
as she looked about her at what she remembered as the   
foyer to the throne room. A sad, mournful sigh escaped   
her.   
" It is over," Sailor Pluto whispered. In response   
to her words, two blurs of light appeared and resolved   
themselves into two women. Sailors Neptune and Uranus,   
her partners. The two newcomers touched hands once, a   
simple brushing together of fingertips. They needed no   
other displays of affection.   
" Why?" Sailor Uranus asked, looking around   
them. She knew the answer. All three of them knew the   
answer. Instead of hoping for a response that would   
ease the pain, the tall woman stalked towards the entrance   
to the palace. Neptune and Pluto followed a few moments   
later at her low cry of outrage.  
" Children," Sailor Neptune breathed as she saw the   
figures on the stairs and began to weep. " Oh,   
Serenity-sama. They're just children." The four Inner   
Senshi lay near the foot of a set of stairs. Prince   
Endymion was slumped against a pillar a few steps above   
them, unseeing eyes staring at the sun. Princess Serenity   
was sprawled out next to him, but her head was gently   
cradled in his lap.   
" Children or not, they gave a good accounting of   
themselves," Uranus added as she briefly embraced Neptune.   
She grimly made herself look at the bodies of the fallen,   
and not just the Senshi. They might have been young, but   
it looked like they had accounted for hundreds of Beryl's   
troops. It was a futile, final stand that deserved the   
attention of the finest bards; a saga that even the gods   
could appreciate. Especially as it dealt with the   
downfall of one.  
It was a pity that it was due to that most ugly of   
human emotions: greed.   
" The queen knew what was going on," Pluto   
declared. " Beryl was of the Silver Millennium as well,   
so I can only guess that Serenity-sama considered it an   
internal matter and refused to call us in."  
" We know, Pluto," Neptune assured her and put a   
hand on the older woman's arm. It was clear what Pluto   
was thinking about. All three of them had been thinking   
the same thing since they received word of the attack,   
but not one message from the queen requesting their   
assistance. " It wasn't our fault. We can only come   
here at Serenity-sama's orders."   
" And Serenity-sama would not have missed such   
a build-up of armies on the Earth below her," Uranus   
commented without a trace of sarcasm or irony in her   
voice. They regarded the queen as a veritable equal to   
the gods they had grown up worshipping in their distant   
youths. Her sea-green eyes narrowed slightly as she   
looked at their counterparts on the stairs, and their   
princess and her love.   
" I don't want to leave them like this," she   
decided and walked into the palace. A few minutes later   
she emerged carrying a stack of white linens. Pluto and   
Neptune had already concurred and carried Mars and   
Mercury to the top of the steps. If you ignored the   
blood once you had laid them out, they looked like they   
were asleep.  
Uranus walked over to Venus. Something was missing,   
she realized as she started to pull out the arrow that   
protruded from underneath the bow on her chest. Barbed,   
she noted, snapped it instead, and removed the shaft. A   
short length of slender chain was still attached to the   
girl's waist. Broken ends bore mute testimony to what had   
happened.  
Aha, she congratulated herself and walked a few paces   
away to one of the Earthers. She pried the rest of the   
chain from his stiff, unyielding fingers and draped it   
back over the girl's waist before picking her up and   
putting her with the others.   
" A badge of office, perhaps?" Neptune slyly   
observed, glancing at Pluto's similar chain with a   
hint of mischief in her eyes.   
" Perhaps," Pluto replied as red eyes met and   
held ones of deep blue for a moment before Pluto walked   
down to retrieve Jupiter. " I never met these girls,   
either. I do not know if she attached any special   
significance to it."   
" What about them?" Neptune asked, motioning towards   
the princess and her prince as she covered each of the   
Senshi with a sheet in the place of a proper burial   
shroud. It would have to do.  
" Leave them," Pluto answered and walked to the   
couple. She gently closed his eyes and put one of the   
princess' hands in his. " It is obvious that they cared   
for each other a greatl deal. As long as they are together,   
I don't think that they'd mind."   
" You're right," Uranus sighed and ran hand through   
her short, almost-white hair in an old, habitual gesture.   
She took one of the sheets and draped it over the prone   
body of the princess from the shoulders down. Before   
Neptune could come any closer, she finished by covering   
the prince's lower legs.   
The daughter of a goddess should not have any   
weaknesses, at least not ones that her worshippers should   
see, Uranus reminded herself. Judging from the angle,   
Princess Serenity's wound was self-inflicted, and she   
didn't want Neptune to know that.  
" Could we wait a little while before we summon   
her?" Neptune asked suddenly, catching the others off   
guard. Their steady gaze caused her to blush slightly,   
and she swallowed nervously before speaking. " It has   
changed so much since we were last here. I wanted to   
look around so I can remember it."   
" Yes," Pluto smiled and nodded in reply. She felt   
the same way, as did Uranus. It had been many years since   
they had last been summoned to the palace by the current   
queen's great-grandmother, and those of the Silver   
Millennium possessed long lives.   
Shortly after they began to look around at the   
remains of the place they drew their inspiration from, the   
dream they had sworn to defend; they found their queen.  
Serenity lay upon a broken slab of white marble that   
matched her gown and her long hair. Her face was calm and   
relaxed, and they could easily make themselves believe that   
she was merely asleep. No marks were visible upon her body.   
Pluto knelt by her for a moment, her eyes half-closed   
in concentration and one hand slightly raised as if to   
touch the queen. " Serenity-sama!" she choked back a sob,   
but it was strange given the circumstances. It was not in   
mourning that she began to cry. It was joy.  
" Pluto?" Neptune softly asked and put a hand on   
Pluto's shoulder. The older woman looked up at her and   
smiled.   
" When we heard the death-cries of the Silver   
Millennium, I heard something else as well. A song of   
hope. Serenity not only defeated and sealed away Beryl   
and Metallia at the cost of her life. She sent the others   
forward."  
" You mean... " Uranus began to say, her voice   
trailing off as she realized the implications of what   
Pluto had said.   
" The Silver Millennium will rise once more," Neptune   
said in relief. " As shall we once we are needed."  
" Of course. We will always be there," Uranus added   
and paused a few moments before going on. " That certainly   
makes our duty easier, though."  
" Afraid of dying, Uranus?" Pluto gently asked. The   
blonde shook her head.  
" No. It was living that I feared. I was afraid that   
we would survive what is to come," she said. " To live   
forever, without hope... that would be tragic."  
" It would be," Neptune agreed. " I'm tired,   
Pluto. If it means fulfilling my duty, I would gladly   
keep on living. If not... " she added, allowing her   
voice to trail off.  
" I know," Pluto smiled at her. " The first queen's   
orders as part of our oath were very specific as to what   
we must now do. Shall we begin?" The other two nodded and   
together they walked towards the temple that was on the   
opposite side of the spacious plaza in front of the palace   
steps.   
Uranus paused by a spire reaching up from the center   
of the plaza. At the front of spire, which faced the   
entrance to the plaza that led to the city beyond, the   
hilt and part of a blade of a sword protruded upwards   
from the marble. She reached for it out of curiosity,   
having recognized the style of the workmanship as being   
lunar.   
The tall woman blinked rapidly a few times after   
grasping the hilt and quickly knelt, murmuring an   
apology. " That has to stay," she explained as she stood   
and turned towards the temple. That was all she would say   
about it, and then they reached the temple and, by a silent   
consensus, the time for talk of anything else passed.   
" It is strange to think that we are doing   
this," Neptune said as she took out her Talisman, the   
Deep Aqua Mirror. " Ironic, even. We did so much to make   
sure that she would never wake up."  
" Things are different now," Pluto replied and   
took the Garnet Orb from the top of her staff. Uranus   
nodded and produced the Space Sword. All three of the   
Talismans seemed to shine a little brighter now that they   
were united, but this was even greater than normal for the   
rare times that they were together. They solemnly filed   
into the temple itself and stood before the altar.   
A faint glow appeared around the Talismans as they   
pointed them towards the altar, and the light flowed from   
them to surround it. Moments later, an indistinct form   
was visible. Over the next few heartbeats, it took on a   
more definite shape and gained substance. It was a young   
woman in an outfit similar to theirs, and she held in her   
hand a tall polearm that was nearly twice her height.  
" Sailor Saturn," Pluto acknowledged her and   
cautiously nodded. The young woman looked around the   
room, taking in the sights of the temple and the three   
women with her sad, violet eyes.   
" Pluto. Neptune. Uranus." she greeted them in cool,   
formal tones before her voice warmed slightly. " Is this   
the Silver Millennium that I beheld in my dreams?" she   
asked, becoming almost reverential as she became aware   
of where she was.  
Inwardly, Pluto sighed. This poor child existed only   
for one thing, it seemed. Every time she felt her resolve   
falter, or to curse the fate that had made her a Senshi,   
she had only to think of the example of Saturn to remind   
her of how much worse it might have been.   
" It is, Saturn," Neptune broke in. " We are so very   
sorry that it must come to this, but we have called you to   
fulfill your duty."  
" The Silver Millennium has fallen," Uranus   
explained. " In order for it to have the chance to rise   
again, you must destroy what is left of it. The cycle of   
death and rebirth must be completed."   
" I feared that was the case," the newcomer   
replied. " Will there ever be a time where I need not   
be the God of Ruin? Is destruction to be my only destiny?"  
" I cannot see the future," Pluto said. All three   
of them felt a deep sense of pity for the younger   
woman. " I do not know what will be, but I will pray that   
such a time will come."   
" As shall we, Saturn," Neptune added and wiped a   
tear from her eye. Uranus caught the gaze of Saturn and   
nodded once, slowly, indicating that she, too, felt the   
same.  
" Thank you," Saturn smiled softly and put her   
other hand on her weapon. " It has been so long I can   
scarce remember what it was like to be other than   
what I am now."  
Suddenly, all four of them were floating high above   
the grounds of the castle. It was like a child's toy at   
their feet. Saturn barely suppressed a giggle at the   
difference in perspective and turned to the others. Her   
face grew calm.   
The Silence Glaive began to glow as she held it   
vertically above her. First one, then another, and   
suddenly dozens of ghostly, translucent ribbons appeared   
behind her. The universe itself seemed to stop. To the   
three women, it was like all of creation paused in honor   
of what had passed this day. Not even the beating of   
their hearts or the sound of their breath could be heard.   
" It pains me enough to destroy the joy and   
beauty I feel in this place," Saturn whispered as she   
quickly glanced at each of the women in turn. They felt   
something pulling at them, twisting. " I cannot bear to   
destroy you with it. Farewell, those who are in spirit   
my kin."   
The Silence Glaive began to come down. The silence   
was heavy and oppressive, and it hungered for life as it   
rushed out into this world. They heard her say the three   
words and nothing more as the twisting sensation increased   
a thousandfold.   
The next thing they knew they were in the monitor   
room of Charon Castle, which was floating in orbit around   
the cold and distant planet of Pluto. Uranus and Neptune   
had never actually been there, but they had seen it from   
their own castles when the three had need to converse.   
They stood within a pattern on the floor in the same shape   
as the sigil of Pluto, and it glowed faintly,   
acknowledging their presence.   
The monitors flickered to life, revealing the   
damage done on the moon. Little remained of the Palaces   
Major or Minor, the site of ceremonial functions and   
the royal family's living quarters, respectively. A few   
rocks might suggest that once a wall stood there, but that   
was all. The temple had simply vanished, as had most of   
the small city surrounding the palace grounds.   
" Now, indeed, it is truly over," Pluto sighed. She   
reached out and turned off the bank of monitors. The room   
dimmed dramatically. " Do any of you have any idea of what   
we should do next?" she asked.   
" There is not much we can do," Uranus replied,   
holding her hand out, palm upwards. Her eyes narrowed   
slightly, the only sign of her concentration. Nothing   
happened in response to her commands, which should have   
resulted in a yellowish, ringed sphere of energy." I only   
have castle access left, Pluto."  
" The same here," Neptune confirmed a few moments   
later. " I can probably manage a teleport right now, but   
that is all."   
The dark green haired woman sighed, reattached her   
Talisman to the Garnet Rod, and leaned the staff against   
the wall by an archway leading into the castle's   
depths. " My words were more prophetic than I realized. You   
are welcome to stay here, if you wish.  
" Actually," she hesitantly smiled. " I'd appreciate   
it if you did. I'm not sure what we should do next, and   
that makes me nervous for some reason."  
" All right, Pluto," Neptune smiled at her and   
hugged her briefly. " We'll stay the night, at least."   
" But after that, I don't know," Uranus softly   
added and put an arm around Neptune when she went back   
to stand by the blonde. " I'm tired, too, Pluto. Not   
just physically tired."   
" I can't remember how long we've been on   
duty," Neptune went on. " No matter what we do now or   
what we wish for, when the Silver Millennium is restored,   
we will be restored as well. I just want to sleep right   
now, Pluto. Maybe even as long as it takes for us to be   
needed again."  
" I understand," the older woman replied and smiled   
knowingly. She knew how the others felt. " We'll talk   
about it more tomorrow." Neptune and Uranus allowed her   
to show them to a suite of rooms to stay in for the time   
being.  
After that, she took the time to leisurely bathe and   
fix a small, simple meal. The other two women were already   
cleaned up and asleep by the time she took their food in to   
them. She smiled slightly, seeing them together like   
this. Neptune was curled up next to Uranus with her head   
nestled into the crook of the blonde's arm. Both of   
their faces showed the signs of fatigue and worry, but   
they were peaceful as well.   
This was probably the first time in a few centuries,   
she realized, that these two   
could be together like this. Her own duty guarding the   
Gates of Time kept her from helping them out too   
frequently. Whenever anything had arisen that demanded   
more than just one Senshi, they would call on each other   
first before asking her for help. While they rarely saw   
each other, it still had been enough time for the two   
women to have become close.   
Pluto put down the tray on the table by the door. It   
was some fruits and bread, along with a delicate white   
wine and some cheeses. Nothing that wouldn't keep until   
they woke up. After that, she took her portion of the food   
with her to her rooms. Out of habit, she had put her   
uniform back on after bathing, but she blushed when she   
saw herself in a mirror.  
What was the point anymore, she asked herself and   
changed into a light silk gown in a purple color that   
complimented her, and pulled on a white cotton robe over   
that. She didn't have any real reasons to be modest here,   
she could easily withstand the cold of space or that of   
the castle's interior. Nor was it the company. She had   
nothing to hide from the others.  
This was how she had wanted to be able to pass the   
time when she was younger, she remembered and stepped into   
a pair of slippers. This was what she used to think that   
ladies of wealth and position spent their time doing in   
the evening when not entertaining guests. She had the   
castle for some time now, but had always been on duty   
until earlier in the day. Aside from trying the garments   
on to make sure that they fit, it was the first time she   
had worn anything in the closet.   
Pausing only to select a book of poetry from the   
oft-used library, she took her dinner and made her way up   
the long, spiral stairs to the room at the top of the   
central spire of her castle. It was cold up here, and   
despite the cold not bothering her, it was still   
noticeably cooler. The temperature was not just due   
to that she was currently so far away from the sun   
right now. The ornate, wooden doors behind her, a physical   
manifestation of the Gates of Time, absorbed much of the   
heat of the room.   
As she ate, she spent some time trying to figure out   
the specifics of what had happened on the moon earlier in   
the day. She also had wanted to spend some time trying to   
figure out what had happend to their powers, but soon her   
hands fell still on the controls of her console.   
Thoughts of the now uncertain future filled her   
mind. Before, she had always assumed that this would be   
her duty until she died. She knew that she would live a   
long time, and she had, but she never had though about   
surviving the fall of the Silver Millennium. Death in   
battle was what she had always though would be the end   
for her and her partners. Never in a million years   
would she had considered that she would survive past   
its' fall.   
The unthinkable had happened, however. Now, the   
question was what to do tomorrow, and not how to do your   
duty tomorrow. The difference, after all this time, was   
almost frightening. Neptune and Uranus had a valid   
point. After all this time, there was little they   
wanted to do now but rest. She didn't think that they   
would do anything drastic, but it was possible that   
soon they would simply go to sleep and not wake up   
again.   
That was something that she had the option of doing   
as well, but the ramifications of that concerned her. The   
prospect of death did not bother her, nor did the concept   
of suicide. After as long as she had lived, nothing really   
bothered her.   
Her concern was for the future, however. The queen   
had won the day, but she was able to feel the effects of   
what Serenity had done. Their liege was truly like a   
goddess when it came to power, but she would also have   
been the first to admit that she had only a fraction of   
the understanding of a divine being.   
If she had sent her daughter forward in time, it   
meant that Queen Serenity had not been able to defeat   
the demon outright. It also meant that the seal upon   
Metallia was not perfect. At some point in the distant   
future, Metallia's evil would come forth again to plague   
the world. Obviously, Serenity meant for her daughter to   
combat Metallia at that time. If she chose to sleep until   
then, like Uranus and Neptune were considering, that would   
leave nobody to guard against anything Serenity may have   
missed.   
The seal's imperfections meant that Serenity had   
not been perfect, and that meant that her visions of the   
possible futures may not have been perfect. She herself   
knew that all too well thanks to her studies of her   
realm. Sailor Pluto commanded a fraction of the power   
that was summoned by the rightful queen of the Silver  
Millennium with the backing of the Silver Crystal.   
She was, however, far more experienced than the   
queen could ever be at the manipulation and understanding   
of time. She had already determined that she could not   
change what had happened that day. The queen had seen to   
that. If not, the Silver Millennium would have been   
restored already. Her own life would have been a small   
price to pay for its' return.  
Her decision was quite easy to reach. Somebody   
would have to stand guard in order to assure that the   
future would be safe. She could not ask that of Uranus   
and Neptune. She would let them have the rest they   
deserved. The facade would be easy to present to her   
partners, and as for the time involved.... well, what   
were a few more millennia to her, anyway?  
" Good evening," a rich, low voice spoke from   
behind her. At first, she thought it might have been   
Uranus until she heard the doors behind her close, and   
her blood ran chill as fear gripped her heart. Her staff   
appeared at her summons, as did her uniform, and she   
gathered her power as she spun around ready for anything.   
Anything, perhaps, except the ghost who stood in   
front of her.  
" You're... " she protested, unable to understand   
why he was here. The man was no ghost, she could now   
tell. He was too solid for that. She had seen his dead   
body earlier, and had helped summon Saturn to destroy   
his remains.   
" Dead?" Endymion offered and stepped forward a few   
paces and into the light that illuminated her work. Now   
that he had done so, she could see some differences. His   
hair had a more purple tone to it, as did the ornate   
clothes he wore. There were a few faint lines on his   
face, minute hints that, along with his wise eyes, made   
her realize the truth. This was not the same man she   
had seen earlier in the day. He had a confidence and   
bearing that bespoke power and a familiarity with   
carrying the weight of years.   
" Who are you?" she demanded. " What are   
you? Nothing can go through those doors without my   
express permission!"   
He help up his hands slightly, making sure that he   
made no sudden moves that might alarm her. " If you would   
allow me a moment, perhaps I can establish my credentials   
to your satisfaction."  
At her nod, he reached into the vest pocket of his   
suit, and came out with a small key that made her gasp and   
look down at the chain around her waist. All of her keys   
were there...  
" I sent you?" she whispered the question, becoming   
more and more confused by the moment. He nodded and took   
a seat at the table across from where she had been   
sitting. Numbly, she joined him. He handed her the key   
to look at, which she did, recognizing how it was the   
twin of one of the keys on her belt, but it was also   
subtly different.   
It showed the slight signs of aging and usage that   
hers lacked. The key also felt different to her senses, a   
reminder that it was not quite entirely her who created   
it. What was unmistakable, however, was that he was not   
from this time. He and the key were from the future.   
" Do you remember the restrictions that are upon   
your power, Pluto?" he asked when she was done and had   
handed him the key. He waited for her to nod before he   
went on. " You must not leave your post. You must not   
stop time.  
" And, finally, you must not cross time itself. That   
is why I am here, Pluto. I am a messenger."   
" A messenger?" she echoed. " What could concern the   
me in the future enough to break all the rules about time   
and paradoxes and do something stupid like this?" she   
challenged him. He coolly held her gaze for several   
moments, but then she began to see a look of pity come   
into his eyes.  
" What am I about to do wrong, then?" she asked him.  
" Your counterpart in the future is not hampered like   
you are, Pluto. She may not cross time, but the past she   
can examine is the future you cannot see. She, like you,   
would not have lightly breached the barriers of time."   
" What is it, then?" she repeated her question, her   
mind racing as she considered all of her recent actions for   
anything that could have been done wrong. He gently smiled   
at her, his eyes warm and compassionate. With a barely   
concealed start, she suddenly realized that her future   
self must love him. She could see herself doing so.   
" She is worried about you, Pluto. The decision   
you make this night is not the correct one," Endymion   
explained.   
" Am I such an idiot in the future?" she snapped.   
" Is it not a measure of how important it is to her   
that I am even here?" he quickly countered, making her go   
quiet as she recognized the truth in his words. He could   
not have come here on his own. He had to have the full   
co-operation of her counterpart in the future to have   
made the journey.   
" Why is my welfare so important to the me in the   
future?" she asked and suddenly realized why his gaze   
had been filled with pity for her. " She's worried   
because I am not in the future," she said and began   
to shiver. The implications staggered her.   
Mortality.  
" Her message is this, Pluto," he finally said a   
few minutes later after she looked up at him   
again. " 'Take the time to enjoy what is to come.' I   
assume that it applies to Neptune and Uranus as well."   
He reached out and placed one of his hands over   
hers as she sat and considered the message. " I think   
that she was afraid that you would spend all your time   
up here and be alone, Pluto. She now understands that   
being alone all the time is not a good thing, and I think   
that she wishes to spare you the pain of finding that out   
on your own."   
" That would mean, then, that I am to be   
reincarnated like the others," she wondered aloud. He   
shrugged in response.   
" I don't know, Pluto. Her message said nothing   
about any particulars, and she has told me nothing of   
the past. I died a few hours ago, remember? I do not   
know if you are the same one who is my friend in the   
future.  
" I always enjoyed debating the possible problems   
of time travel with her, however, and this has two   
possible outcomes for you to consider. In one case,   
you are the Pluto in the future, and in the other, you   
are not. Nothing has happened between us that would   
have changed that."   
" And the most probable outcomes are that I am   
either happier than before or still sad, based on how I   
react," she replied and laughed, feeling some of her   
sorrows lifting away from her as she did so. " The Pluto   
from your future is wise, indeed, Endymion. I will   
consider what she says."   
" Thank you," he said, stood, and bowed to   
her. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell her just how   
long it had taken his Pluto to learn the lesson of   
the importance of personal happiness, and at what   
cost. " That is all I could ask for, I believe, and I   
think that she would say the same."   
Pluto rose as well and walked over to him. A   
moment later, she impulsively hugged him and gave him   
a kiss on the cheek. " That is for you as well as my   
counterpart," she laughed, barely able to keep it from   
being a giggle. " My response, if you will, to my   
message."   
" I will tell her, then," he blushed slightly   
and smiled. " And with that, I must be going. It would   
be unwise to stay too long."   
" I know," she agreed as he walked back to the   
Gates and opened the door. Their eyes met for another   
moment before he stepped away and ahead, and was lost   
to her forever.   
She went over to her console and shut it down   
after turning off the lights and closing the the shields   
over the windows. Sure-footed in the darkness, she   
picked up the book and her tray, and walked to the   
stairs to begin her descent.  
Endymion had not known about the other message   
her probable reincarnate had sent. She knew with a   
great deal of certainty that she was not the one who   
existed in the future. The key was proof of that. There   
should not have been as many differences between hers   
and the one he bore if she was alive in the future.   
At the foot of the stairs, she laughed   
softly. Whether it was her in the future or not, the   
Pluto of that time was indeed wiser than her. The earth   
represented a whole planet that she had only seen, and   
never visited. That would change tomorrow, she knew. It   
was time for all three of them to see first-hand what   
they had spent so long protecting. It was time to make   
some happier memories than just the lonely nights that   
were part of their long and lonely vigil.  
  
  
The End.  
  
  
  
************************************************************  
  
All characters are copyrights of the respective holders.  
Please send comments, etc. to the above e-mail address.  
  
Special thanks to the following...  
  
Naoko Takeuchi, of course.  
incredible characters, and artwork that can   
give rise to so many ideas from a few little   
drawings.   
  
Luna and Artemis for kind words, support, and being   
good friends for so long. Through good times and   
bad, they have been there.   
check out their page at  
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9897/  
for the best Sailor Moon fan-fiction collection.  
  
Greenbeans for being herself. all I need to say,   
really.   
check out her page at  
http://www.kfalls.net/~gbeans  
  
Jackie Chiang, sage advice, good fics and general   
silliness that lightens the spirit.   
check out her page at  
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/3741/   
  
Alex Glover for his wonderful work on the manga   
of Naoko Takeuchi. check out his page at  
http://www.nwlink.com/~kurozuki/manga.htm  
  
my wonderful betas, the real heroes  
  
Erica  
Shelley  
Helen Szeto aka lennie  
Pandora Diane Waldron  
Nikki Purvis aka JetWolf  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Aftermath {1/1}  



End file.
